PR Spreadsheet

One tool I use to track my progress is a PR spreadsheet.

Using Excel, I systematically listed every exercise I do by name. Then I listed the implement I use. A simple SORT command will put them in alphabetical order.

So I'd list say, Bench Press in one column and Dumbbell in the next, or Bench Press and then Barbell.

Next I listed reps - 1-15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50. Under each rep, I list my PR for that lift. If I did it for more than one set, I note that - so 5 x 155 is a one-set PR, if I did 3 x 5 x 155 I'd list 155 (3x5) instead. You can use the Excel comment feature to list a date with the weight and sets and reps. You can bold your most important lifts, if you like.

It's a simple way to keep all of your lifts together.

Amusingly, mine is somewhat of a mine of junk, too, as I listed everything I ever did. I used to do triceps kickbacks, so they are in there, right by the rolling triceps extensions I do now. Those upright rows I used to do? Listed. Many of them are badly out of date. You might choose to prune yours, or maintain it as an aggregate historical record.

I highly recommend using a spreadsheet like this to track your lifts. It makes your progress viewable at a glance, and it's easy to check what your best lift was when you are setting your goals for the next workout or next cycle.